Bishop's Message

Bishop Wm Chris Boerger Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Subscribe to receive notification of new messages >

God Connected To The Created World
by The Rev. Wm Chris Boerger, Bishop

Every summer for the past 21 years I have gone to Camp Lutherwood, Bellingham, for confirmation camp. It was an important part of the relationship building between pastor and student that I see to be essential to the confirmation program. It also gave us time to look at issues or topics that are better done in a camp setting than in a congregational classroom. Each year I would lead the students through a guided meditation process. This involved relaxation and then a story being read while the students let their minds imagine the story. Every year I read Genesis 1 as one of these stories.

I am struck by the form of that story. On each day God said, it happened and God declared it good. It is that Hebrew word for good that gets my attention these days. That word has an emotional quality to it. I am led to believe that a better translation of that word would be wow. God gets excited by what has been created.

As we deal with issues of global warming and environmental stewardship I want to make sure we remember that we are here to serve and protect the wow of God's creative work. The world around us is to be seen and used as if God is emotionally connected to it and to us. Our God does display emotion. From the wow of creation to weeping over Jerusalem, God is connected to the created world.

As those who are created in the image of God, we need to reflect that connection to the creation. The air, water, soil and all of their creatures are what have been created by God and are our responsibility to protect and sustain. This is not just a political or scientific issue. It is why we were created.

As a creature in this created order I am called to see my connection with all that exists. To borrow from the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, we are co-creatures, not co-creators. Our role in the creation is to build up, not tear down.

The human family is in need of repentance from the sin of seeing ourselves as rulers of creation and not parts of God's good cosmos. This is an issue that we will need to address in our congregations, our homes and our political life. The sound of God's wow should be ringing in our ears as we make all of these decisions. Wow, indeed.